I too grew up in Warwick, about a mile south of this theater. I went to Aldrich Junior High across the street and went to many movies here. In particular I remember the summer of ‘77 because it was between jr. high and high school for me, and also because Star Wars played at the Warwick Cinema. I was too young to have a job, but I had a paper route and an allowance, so a friend and I went to see it five or six times over the course of the summer months.
I’ve lived in the Boston area since coming here for college in 1981. Over the years I saw a number of movies at this and several other now-closed theaters. My most vivid memory of the 57 is going with a friend to see Scarface on opening weekend in ‘83. The theater (presumably the larger of the two) was filled to capacity with a very rowdy crowd of inner-city teens. While waiting for the movie to start, we heard a crashing sound from the lobby, followed by a distant shout of “Free popcorn!” We found out when the movie was over that someone had smashed the glass in the concession stand.
As if that wasn’t enough weirdness for one night, while walking home along the Comm. Ave. mall, we were accosted by two or three drunk kids from Southie who challenged us to tell them how to get to South Boston. We had a small argument, and eventually they admitted they were just looking for some “rich, stuck-up college kids to beat up.” We were able to convince them that we were neither rich nor stuck-up, and we were not looking for trouble. I have to wonder if there was a full moon that night. In all my years living here, that’s the only brush with trouble I’ve ever had.
I too grew up in Warwick, about a mile south of this theater. I went to Aldrich Junior High across the street and went to many movies here. In particular I remember the summer of ‘77 because it was between jr. high and high school for me, and also because Star Wars played at the Warwick Cinema. I was too young to have a job, but I had a paper route and an allowance, so a friend and I went to see it five or six times over the course of the summer months.
I’ve lived in the Boston area since coming here for college in 1981. Over the years I saw a number of movies at this and several other now-closed theaters. My most vivid memory of the 57 is going with a friend to see Scarface on opening weekend in ‘83. The theater (presumably the larger of the two) was filled to capacity with a very rowdy crowd of inner-city teens. While waiting for the movie to start, we heard a crashing sound from the lobby, followed by a distant shout of “Free popcorn!” We found out when the movie was over that someone had smashed the glass in the concession stand.
As if that wasn’t enough weirdness for one night, while walking home along the Comm. Ave. mall, we were accosted by two or three drunk kids from Southie who challenged us to tell them how to get to South Boston. We had a small argument, and eventually they admitted they were just looking for some “rich, stuck-up college kids to beat up.” We were able to convince them that we were neither rich nor stuck-up, and we were not looking for trouble. I have to wonder if there was a full moon that night. In all my years living here, that’s the only brush with trouble I’ve ever had.